Analyzing Baylor's 2026 4-star commits: WR London Smith

Smith, whose mother and father were both standouts athletes at Baylor, committed to the Bears late January, and has remained steadfast to Dave Aranda’s program, openly recruiting fellow 4-star receiver and Texan Chase Campbell, who’s set to commit on July 22nd. Smith chose to stay home despite a litany of offers from traditional blue bloods like Alabama, Georgia, Oregon, Texas A&M, Tennessee, and Ole Miss.

Rankings: Ranked 318th nationally, 39th-best WR in Texas (via 247Sports Composite).

4⭐️ Baylor commit @London_Smith1 WENT OFF today in Waco University’s spring game @RecruitTheU @WacoUFootball @CoachCFoster_

Game highlights: https://t.co/eIC5GuWCWq pic.twitter.com/OEJ7H9nn99
— CentralTXProspects (@Centex_Recruits) May 16, 2025

Analysis: Dynamic field stretcher. A glider in the open field that easily separates vertically, but also with releases, route stems, and in-breaking routes. Elite athletic pedigree, with his father being a 3-year starter and standout safety at Baylor who also started for the Bears’ 1996 basketball squad. Meanwhile his mother is one of the program’s most decorated female athletes, the 1999 NCAA triple jump champion who’s now the associate head coach for Baylor’s track and field program. Smith himself plays DB along with receiver, and crossed the 1,000 point threshold in basketball in January for his high school team. Natural hands catcher that can secure balls away from his frame and pull in errant throws despite average length and build. Shows toughness and willingness to work in the middle of the field, take big hits, and still move the chains. Need to see more cripsiness and intention with his route-running, often winning at the high school level with his agility and speed. Does appear to be able to identify zone coverage, being able to sit in windows and find holes in different zones. Will be interested to see if he becomes strictly a slot in college with his size and speed, or if Aranda’s staff will allow him to test his mettle as a compact X receiver

Reminds me of: Current Colts WR Josh Downs, & current Texans wideout Christian Kirk. Kirk was a bit more highly rated than Smith, but Kirk, Downs, and Smith all are in between that 5 '10-6' 0 range, guys that can operate as twitchy slot types but can also put pressure on corners and safeties downfield with their speed. Specifically with Downs, the added athletic gene pool gives you confidence that he will maximize his skillet. He could get touches early on as a gadget-style threat, but this is a true football player, not just an athlete out there running by people. With the pedigree and production, he offers a high-floor as a potential mulit-year starter that could join his father and mother as one of the banner athletes for the Baylor program.